This invention relates to railway trackwork and more particularly to an improved switch heel block.
A typical railway turnout includes a switch stand, stock rails, movable switch point rails, frog and closure rails. A switch heel block, which may be a casting or a fabricated structure made by welding tough rolled steel components together, or bolting rolled bars together is a rigid structure for maintaining the gage at the heel end of a switch and is designed to keep the closure rail and switch point in correct alignment both vertically and horizontally. A switch heel block comprises a plurality of parts, i.e. joint bars or plates, bolts and struts and/or thimbles welded between the bars. Since these parts are manufactured in the shop and sent to the field for assembly it is essential that bolt holes be accurately located for proper alignment. On occasion the holes are out of location and/or contain burrs from the drilling operation. The field assembly of the heel block parts is difficult when the holes in the bars and rail webs do not line up accurately requiring additional field work, i.e. reaming the holes and welding struts to insure perfect alignment of the bolts through the bars and rail webs.